A
complex for deep refining of crude oil went on stream at OOO
LUKOIL-Permnefteorïsintez today.
The
complex, Russia’s first, is also the world’s seventh facility of the
kind.
The newly
introduced complex is designed for the hydrofining and hydrocracking of vacuum
distillate mixtures and secondary components for the production of highly
refined catalytic-cracking feedstock, low-sulfur and low-aromatics diesel fuel
and also naphta needed for anti-knock gasoline production.
More
than 10.8 billion rubles have been invested in the construction of the
deep-refining complex. Its designed annual capacity is 3.5 million tons of
feedstock.
Part of
the equipment and materials for the deep-refining complex was manufactured by
leading U.S. and European firms, while 60 per cent of the equipment was made in
Russia, with more than 90 manufacturers having taken part. Yet another 30 Russian organizations
were involved in the construction, engineering, installation and start-up
operations. Construction, alone, required the efforts of some 2.5 thousand workers.
ABB
Lummus Global, Texaco and Comprimo were the licensor firms that took part in the
construction of the complex. OAO VNIPIneft was the general designer of the
complex, and ZAO LUKOIL-Neftegazstroi was the general contractor.
The
complex consists of three main units: hydrocracking, production of hydrogen
and production of elemental sulfur.
The
hydrocracking unit together with the diesel-fuel hydrodearomatization block was
constructed under Texaco’s T-Star technology. The annual production capacities
are: 2,133 thousand tons of hydrofined vacuum gasoil, 864 thousand tons of diesel fuel, 293
thousand tons of stable gasoline and 71 thousand tons of kerosene.
The
hydrogen production unit, constructed under the ABB Lummus Global technology,
turns out 48.3 thousand tons of
hydrogen annually.
The
elemental sulfur production unit, built to the basic design of Comprimo (Jacobs
Engineering), consists of two blocks (the Claus sulfur block and the SCOT
off-gas purification block) and is capable of producing 78 thousand tons of
elemental sulfur annually.
The
introduction of the new deep-refining complex will result in an incremental
production of 1 million tons of
motor fuel and will also raise the quality of petroleum products to meet future
European standards. This increment in white-product volume would otherwise have
come from refining an additional 2.3 million tons of crude oil annually.
The
new facilities will also significantly improve the ecology in the vicinity of
the refinery. The deep-refining complex will allow to bring sulfur dioxide
emissions down to accepted levels. Twelve hundred tons less sulfur dioxide will
be emitted into the air due only to the change-over to purified gas and
low-sulfur fuel oil burnt in the complex’s furnaces. The use of low-sulfur fuels
in Perm region, alone, will reduce annual sulfur dioxide emissions from motor
transport by 950 tons, whereas the corresponding figure for the whole of Russia
will be 2,700 tons. Also, smaller content of benzene in motor fuels will
drastically reduce the emissions of aromatic compounds.
The
introduction of the new complex is yet another step in implementing the
Reconstruction Program of OOO LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez for the Period till
2013.
The
Perm refinery was put into operation in 1858. Since 1991 the refinery is LUKOIL
Group property.
The
refinery’s installed capacity is 12,045 thousand tons, the depth of refining is
84 per cent. Crude oil primary refining figure for 2003 is 11,034 thousand
tons.
Last
year, “Premium-95”, the unleaded brand of gasoline from the Perm refinery, was
acknowledged as one of “Russia’s
100 Best Products”, which is a national trademark of quality.
